Working hours over: Air India pilot abandons plane on runway

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

The pilot said his shift was over

An Air India pilot on Wednesday abandoned his Delhi-bound plane on the runway after a series of delays and left 48 passengers stranded at the Jaipur Airport, declaring that his working hours were over, DNA reported.

The flight 9I644, which was on its way from Lucknow was supposed to arrive in Jaipur at 9 pm, but it was delayed and arrived at about 1:30 am. The take-off was further delayed until 2 am because of smog and technical issues at the Delhi airport, and by a further 30 minutes at the take-off point, the DNA report said.

A source at the airport told DNA that at the take-off point, the pilot said that his shift was over and left the plane.

Some of the passengers were sent to Delhi by bus early Thursday morning. The others were accommodated in a hotel and flown out later.

Airport authorities confirmed the incident.

The aircraft was standed at Jaipur airport until Thursday evening, sources told DNA.